Ali ‘Myth’ Kabbani believes he’s changed the game when it comes to Fortnite and FPS movement, dubbing himself “an innovator” after swapping his default movement keybinds away from the stereotypical WASD setup.
The Team SoloMid streamer is always looking to get ahead of the Fortnite curve, testing new strategies and builds, and even defecting to playing on a controller instead of his usual keyboard and mouse to try and get an edge.
Now, it seems like the Twitch star believes he’s broken the mold again, doing away with the default WASD keybinds that every FPS and battle royale across the world uses, and instead tweaking it slightly to a set of “more natural” settings.
Myth has been putting plenty of hours into Fortnite and Apex Legends recently, including during a huge 15-hour stream on February 3, and it seems to be taking its toll – he admitted he had to change keybinds to help his fingers.
“I changed my movement keys from WASD to WASE. This is a game-changer. I am an innovator,” he revealed to his fans on Twitter on February 4.
The 20-year-old also confirmed he had swapped his pyramid keybind, which had previously been on E, and switched the two so he could use the right strafe button—once D, now E—more often, and only call on the pyramid key when needed
I changed my movement keys from WASD to WASE.
This is a game changer. I am an innovator.
— Myth (@Myth_) February 5, 2020
According to the streamer, who was immediately hit with a wave of shock from his dedicated Fortnite fans, many of whom suggested it was ‘blasphemous’ to abandon WASD, he made the controversial switch to help with cramping.
“Your index finger relaxes way better when it’s on the E key instead of the D key, at least for me,” he continued. “And that leads to way less index finger cramping for me, which was a pretty big issue for a while now.”
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While many fans laughed, and suggested he would drop it nearly immediately, Myth revealed he had already been employing his strange and whacky keybind for a week, and hadn’t regretted anything “just yet.”
Your index finger relaxes way better when it's on the E key instead of the D key, well atleast for me. And that leads to way less index finger cramping for me which was a pretty big issue for a while now. 😅
— Myth (@Myth_) February 5, 2020
While many were initially shocked that Myth was veering away from what is seen as the holy set of keybinds for movement in first-person shooters, and battle royales, it does make a bit of sense, considering where your fingers lie on the keyboard.
It is worth remembering if you’re going to try out Myth’s newest innovation, however, that not every keyboard is built the same. Whereas the TSM star may have a setup that allows for the E key to provide maximum comfort, yours may not.
The lesson to be learned from all of this is keybinds aren’t set in stone. Myth has certainly proved this with his testing period on WASE, and it’s better for players to set their keys to what they like best, rather than just sticking to usual.
As mentioned before, this isn’t the first time Myth has gone against the grain either, picking up the controller at the turn of the decade to “prove it could work.” While he stuck with it for a while, he returned to M&KB on January 26.
For now, it looks like Myth has settled into his new life playing with WASE, but if he wants to change again, there’s more than 100 keys on an average keyboard – apparently, the world truly is your oyster if you leave WASD behind.